Laundry-conveyer drop.



w. w. QUINN. LAUNDRY GONVEYEB. DROP.

APPLICATION FILED HOV.18, 1910.

1,019,086, Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

By I

"UNI ED ST TES PATENT OFFICE...

wI'LBun w. QUINN, or GOSHEN, INDIANA, ASSIGNO-R or ONE-HALF mo NATIONAL CHEMICAL COMPANY, or SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION on NEW YORK. Y

LA NnnY-ooNvEYnIt nnor.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

Application filed November 18, 1910. Serial ll'o. 593,091.

State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Laundry-Conveyer Drops, of which the following, taken 1n connection with the accompanying drawings,

is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in laundry conveyer drops adapted to be used in connection with endless 00nveyer chains for conveying more or less damp laundry articles through and from a suitable drying room and automatically and successively depositing them intoa suitable receptacle immediately upon their exit from such drying room. In this class ofcarriers the conveyer chains are mounted upon suitable horizontally disposed drums located a considerable distance apart in such manner as to cause a large portion thereof to travel through the drying room while other portions are disposed'at the exterior of the drying room. The conveyer is moved at a comparatively slow rate of speed to afford ample time for the complete drying of the laundried articles while traveling through the drier and at the same time permits the attendant to place the damp articles on the hangers at the exterior of the drier away from the heat so that the operation of drying the articles and reloading the'conveyer may be practically continuous.

The carriers upon which the laundry ar-.

ticles are directly supported are suspended preferably uniform distances apart from the underside of the chain and are preferably attached to pendant rods or standards integral with one of the links and my present invention relates more particularly to the carrier.

I am aware that various forms of carriers are now in use some of which are adapted to receive and support collars, cuifs and similar articles having button holes therein for receiving the projecting member or members on the carrier while others are provided with coacting gripping members between which the articles are held by friction hile still others combinetwo forms of retaining elements in a single carrier but in all of these devices with'which I am familiar the supporting. rods which are adapted to pass through button holes or other apertured garments for retaining the same on the conveyer during their transit to the drier are offset or angular longitudinally to prevent the articles from slipping from their supporting rods and it frequently happens that projecting threads or mutilated parts of the dampened article will become wound around and-dried upon the rods while passing through the drier so that it is practically impossible to automatically withdraw the studs from the button holes of such articles upon their exit from the drier without more or less mutilation of such article owing to the angularity of the sup porting rods. Furthermore it has been found that where springs are employed toclose the movable gripping members with suflicient force to frictionally retain the articles on the carrier, considerable power isrequired to release the movable jaws to discharge the dried articles as they emerge from the drier, thereby subjecting the conveyer and automatic tripping mechanism to considerable unnecessary strain and at the same time rendering the tripping operation more or less unreliable.

The main objects therefore of my invention are: First-to make the draw rods or supports for collars, cuifs and similar arti- .cles straight from end to end so that they may be more readily withdrawn from the button holes and also to guide said rods in suitable strippers fitting more or less closely thereon so as to effectively remove any loose threads or mutilated parts of the article.

which may become dried on the rod. Secondto provide each carrier with extra guards for preventing accidental displacement of the articles which may be mounted on the rods during their passage through the drier. Thirdto provide the carrier with gravity closing gripping jaws\ mounted in such manner that the weight of the articles between the coacting stops or jaws will tend ,material capable of withstanding the heat.

6.01? the drying room and at the same time preventing injury by soiling and prevent- -1ng injury .to the garment.

Another ob ect is to PI'OVldB yielding tripping devices for the jaws to reducethe liability of breakage to a minimum in case the movable jaws should become set in their closed positions or fail to open from any other cause by contact with said tripping devices.

Another object to provide means for J preventing the laundry articles from 'be coming caught or wrapped upon the tips of the movable jaws to such an extent as to prevent the automatic discharge. of the dried articles therefrom. Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the device will be brought outin the following description. I Inthe drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a laundry conveyer andsection of a portion of a drying room showing my improved carriers, and: tripping device for releasing the articles-upon their exit from the drying room. Fig. 2 is a top plan of one of the detachedcarriers showing its hanger rod in section, said carrier being shown asjustentering the tripping device indicated by dotted lines. Figs. 3 and at are front elevations partly in section of the same carrier, the movable jaws being shown in their open position in Fig. 3 and in their closed position inFig. 4, portions of the tripping de-' vice being shown in section in both views;

I Fig. 5 is an edge view'of thecarrier. Figs. 6 and 7 are enlarged. detail sectionalviews of a portion of one of the movable jaws and a portion ofone of the fixed jaws. Figs. 8 and 9 are transverse sectional views .taken onlines 8-8, Fig.'6 and 9- -9 Fig. 7.

In Fig. 1 I have shown one end of a 'drymg room 1 as provided with an exit opening -2 through which travels a horizontally disposed conveyer chain -3- having certain of its links provided with form distance apart and each supporting a clothes carrier 5 forming the main subject matter of my invention. A suitable trip or can track 6 is mounted upon' a supporting frame -7- just outside of the drier 1- for releasing the ipping v jaws of. the carrier hereinafter (gscribed and permitting the dry, articles A--- to gravitate into an underlying receptacle 8. Each carrier comprises a main supporting frame 9 having held in place by pendant hanger arms 4 spaced a um-" fixed jaws '10- and movable jaws 11 the latter being preferably madein the form of bell crank levers pivoted at -12--to the main supporting frame -9. and having their lnner arms. 13 projecting upwardly some distance above their pivots and through elongated slots 14 in the main supporting frame. The upper portion of the frame -9- is disposed in a substantially horizontal position and provided with a central taperin socket -'-15' for receivin a correspondmgly'tapered lower end of t e adjacent hanger rod 4- these parts being heldin operative connection by a clamping bolt 16 which may be a cotterkey to permit the carrier to be readily removed from or reattached to' the hanger when desired. The opposite ends of'the frame '9' are curved downwardly and inwardly and are provided with sockets --17- opening from-their lower ends and inner sides for receiving suitable contact tips 18-of glass, porcelain or othernoncorrodible material, thesetips being cotter 'keys 19-' orequivalent fastening means capable of being easily removed to permit the removal 'or reinsertion' of the tips -.-18. The

central portion of the frame 9,' is pro vided with a pendant arm -20- spaced some distance apart from the inwardly curved jaws 10' to 'allow ample roomv for the insertion of the articles between the jaws and also for the free play of the movable jaws, said pendant ortion -20- being provided with vertically slotted ears.

21-- in which the movable jaws -11 are pivoted.

The free ends .of the movable jaws 11 are provided with contact tips 22 of-porcelaln, glass or other non-corrodible material secured to the corresponding ends ,of-

their respective supporting: levers by-pins -23 and adapted to playbetween the tips 18-' and superposed stop shoulders ,-24'- onthe main supporting frame 9. These movable jaws project outwardly or laterally in opposite directions from their sup orting pivots -12-- and are weighted suflibiently to cause them to gravitate to their closed" positions so that their tips -22 will en-.

gage the tips -'-18 and thereby grip between them any article which may be desired to pass through the drier, the weight of said artlcle and friction serving to draw the jaws into closer gripping engagement therewith and prevent as-far as practicable any liability of said articles becoming detached in transit through the drier. The stop shoulders "24 also serve to limit the upward movement of the articles when being inserted between the jaws to prevent them from overhanging upon the upper sides of the movable aws so that when dried and released by the opening of the jaws through the-medium of the tripping mechanism Wlll pins being of suflicient length to project some distance outwardly and. beyond the apertured ears .27- when the jaws are .closed for entering the button holes of collars, cufis and similar articles and thereby retaining said articles on the carrier-during their passagethrough the drier. These pins or rods '26 are preferably straight from end .to end and formed of easily bendable material such as soft wire of sufficient strength to support the articles without. bending and at the same time capable of being'straightened incase' they should become bent in passing back and forth through the apertured lugs 27.

The apertures in -the lugs 27 are of substantially the same size as the rods or pins 26 with just sufficient clearance to permit the free movement of the rods or pins therethrough for the purpose not only of straightening the rods or pins in case they should become bent but also of more efiectively stripping the laundried articles therefrom as they are withdrawn inwardly under the action of the tripping mechanism. In order that these articles may be more positively held upon the pins against accidental displacement while passing. through the drier, I provide the adjacent ends of the frame -9 withopen guard-loops 28' preferably consisting of wires rigidly secured to the frame and having their open sides facing in a direction opposite to the pdirection of movement of the conveyer so that when the pins -26- are withdrawn under the action of the tripping mechanism, the articles previously supported thereby will readily fall or gravitate into the underlying receptacle 8, the guards 28- bein located some distance below the pro-' trudmg ends of the pins 26-.

The cam tracks or tripping mechanisms 6 are disposed in thepathof movement of the outer edges of the upper portions of the arms 13- just outside of the discharge end of the drier and are converged forwardly in'the direction of movement of the carrier but are preferably supported in such manner as to yield laterally in case the jaws should become caught and fail to open from any cause. For this purpose suitable springs 30 are interposed between the ends of the track -(3. and their supporting members 7 of sufficient tension to cause the tracks to open the jaws without yielding but capable of-yielding in case the jaws should become caught or fail to open, thereby-relieving the conveyer from excessive strains.

The conveyer 3 travels at a very slow rate ofspeed whlch enables the attendant to successlvely place button-holed articles upon the protrudlng ends of the pins 26 and with n the loops ''28 and to also insert portlons of other articles between the coactmg sets of jaws -10 and 11- on the portlons of the conveyer outside of the drymg room, the gravity of the movable jaws serving to hold them in their closed posit ons with the pins 26 protruding some distance outwardly beyond their guide ears 27-. The articles thus supported. upon the carriers are then conveyed slowly through the drying room and returned through the opening 2 to the exterior thereof where the arms13 of the mov able grlpping jaws encounter and are opened by contact with the tripping cams --6 thereby releasing said articles from between the coactlng sets of aws l-O' and '11 and also withdrawing the pins 26 backwardly through the guides 27- and also the articles which they previously supported, the ears 27-- serving as strippers to effectlvely remove any portions of the articles which may have become dried on the pins,

thus allowing said articles-to drop into the underlying receptacle 8 after which the emptled carriers are refilled with more or less damp articles to be dried.

What I claim is:

1. drop-carrier for "endless conveyers comprrsmg a frame having apertured stripper guides and straight pins movable back and forthin the apertures in said guides,

the apertures and pins being of substantially the same cross-sectional size.

2. drop-carrier for endless conveyers comprlslng a frame, rock arms on the frame, straight supporting pins connected to and movable with the rock arms, stripper guides fitting closely around the .pins and secured to the frame, and guard-loops on'the frame for retaining articles on the pins. 3. A drop-carrier for endless conveyers comprisinga frame having fixed jaws spaced some distance apart, levers pivoted to the frame and provided with movable jaws coacting with the first named jaws, stops on the frame for limiting the upward movement of the movable jaws, pins pivoted to the levers'and movable therewith, stripper guides for the pins, and guards on the frame for holding articles on the pins.

4. A. drop-carrier for endless conveyers comprising a frame having fixed jaws spaced some distance apart, levers pivoted to the frame and provided with movable jaws coacting with the first named jaws, stops on the frame for limiting the upward movement of the movable iaws, pins. pivoted to. the levers and movab e therewith, stripper comprising a frame having fixed jaws spaced same distance apart, levers pivoted to the frame and provided with movable jaws coacting with the first nained jaws, pivoted to. the levers and movable therewith,- 1'0 stripper guides for the pins. 7 j

In 'itness whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 7th day of November 1910.

, .WILBUR W. cwn m'.

Witnesses:

H. E. CHASE, H. P. Dmuson. j j 1 J 

